MoU signed for commercial production of indigenously developed vaccine "Lumpi-ProVac" (GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- An MoU for production of Goat Pox vaccine and "Lumpi-ProVac" vaccine was signed recently.
- This MoU will ensure large-scale production of Goat Pox vaccine for future needs of India's livestock sector.
- At present Goat Pox vaccine is used for controlling Lumpy Skin Disease in animals and this has been proven effective against Lumpy.
Details:
- National Centre for Veterinary Type Culture, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (ICAR-NRCE), Hisar (Haryana), in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar (UP) developed a homologous live-attenuated LSD vaccine, named Lumpi-ProVacInd.
- Agrinnovate India Limited (AgIn), the commercial arm of DARE, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India granted “Non-Exclusive Rights” for Commercial production of “Lumpi-ProVac”, to Institute of Veterinary Biological Products (IVBP) , Pune.
Lumpi-ProVacind:
- Lumpi-ProVacind is safe in animals and induces LSDV-specific antibody-and cell-mediated immune response, besides providing complete protection against lethal LSDV challenge.
- Lumpi-ProVacind is used for the prophylactic immunization of animals against Lumpy Skin Disease, which illicit protection for about one year.
- A single dose of the vaccine contains 103.5 TCID50 of live-attenuated LSDV (Ranchi strain). The vaccine is stored at 4°C.
- The vaccine must be shipped on ice and must be used within a few hours after reconstitution. The patent has been filed by the ICAR for the technology.
Background:
- The Lumpy Skin Disease has been reported in India from 2019 while first case was reported in the state of Odisha. After that, it has spread to multiple states in the country.
- In 2019, death of a large number of cattle has been reported from different states with high morbidity especially in North-West region of the country.
- The disease has been controlled and contained with the available Goatpox vaccine in the country.
- Considering the heavy production losses and mortality of sizable number of cattle, ICAR initiated research on development of indigenous homologous vaccine against Lumpy Skin Disease.
How will the free food grain scheme work out?
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- In a recent Cabinet decision, the Centre decided to provide 5 kg of free foodgrains per month for the 81 crore beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) during 2023, rather than charging them a subsidised amount of ₹3 a kg of rice, ₹2 a kg of wheat and ₹1 a kg of coarse cereal as is currently done.
- This will soften the blow of the termination of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which has provided an additional 5 kg of free grains every month to NFSA beneficiaries after being launched as an emergency measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020 and received multiple extensions since.
What is the impact of this measure on the food subsidy bill?
- In a normal year, without COVID disruptions, the Centre’s food subsidy bill on account of the NFSA amounted to around ₹2 lakh crore.
- The PMGKAY effectively doubled that sum for the past two years. Now that the Centre plans to give free foodgrains under the NFSA for a year, it will spend an additional ₹15,000 crore to ₹16,000 crore on that.
- However, the Centre will save around ₹2 lakh crore by ending the PMGKAY scheme. Overall, the move will relieve a major burden on the Union Budget.
What does this mean for foodgrain stocks?
- Experts point out that the move will be even more of a relief for stressed foodgrain stocks. The annual foodgrain requirement for the NFSA is about 520 lakh tonnes, while the PMGKAY required an additional 480 lakh tonness.
- The difference comes from the fact that the poorest families coming under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana category received 35 kg a family every month under the NFSA, but received 5 kg per person under the PMGKAY. At the time when the PMGKAY was launched, foodgrain production, government procurement and government stocks were regularly breaching record levels.
Low Harvest in 2022:
- In 2022, however, the situation is different. Rice and wheat harvests have both been lower this year, hit by climatic events and fertilizer shortages in some areas. The global stress due to the Russia-Ukraine war has also led to a situation of high foodgrain inflation.
- India’s wheat stocks in particular, have dipped dangerously close to the required buffer stock levels, with the Centre resorting to a ban on exports to ensure food security for the domestic market.
- It has also been forced to substantially reduce wheat allocations under the Public Distribution System, and substitute wheat supply with rice in States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Continuing the PMGKAY would have been unsustainable without further increasing procurement levels.
How will it impact beneficiaries?
- Leaving aside government budgets, household budgets could be upended by the move. The Right to Food Campaign estimates that poor families will be forced to spend ₹750-₹900 a month to access the current level of ration entitlement.
- Ration card holders who have received 10 kg of grains a person every month for the past two years will see their entitlement abruptly halved. Of course, their expenditure on their NFSA entitlement will also come down, for instance, someone spending ₹8 for four kg of wheat and ₹3 for a kg of rice under NFSA will now get those grains free, saving ₹11 a month.
- However, that is dwarfed by the additional ₹150-₹175 they will need to spend to buy the 5 kg previously provided free under the PMGKAY in the open market (estimating market prices for rice and wheat at around ₹30-₹35 per kg).
- The increased expenditure will be even starker for those in States which anyway provide free NFSA rations, since beneficiaries in those States will not even receive any savings due to the Centre’s announcement.
- However, the consumption of foodgrains as part of a meal varies substantially by State, ranging from about 200 gm per person a day in Kerala to 400 gm in Bihar, and the impact of the move is thus likely to be the highest in the Hindi heartland States where grains make up a higher proportion of the diet.
What is the crypto awareness campaign?
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) will launch an outreach programme soon to create awareness of cryptocurrencies and online gaming.
- The need for the outreach is based on the observation that both crypto-assets and online gaming (that extends to gambling and betting) are still being promoted in a risky manner despite the recent turmoil in the sector.
What is the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)?
- The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) is managed by the IEPF Authority, which was set up in 2016 under the provisions of Section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013.
- The Authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administration of the IEPF, which, besides promoting awareness among investors, makes refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits and debentures and so on to rightful claimants.
- As for investment education, the idea is to reach out to household investors, housewives and professionals alike in rural and urban areas and teach them the basics.
- Focus areas include primary and secondary capital markets, various saving instruments, the instruments for investment (such as mutual funds, equity, among others), making investors aware of dubious Ponzi and chit fund schemes and existing grievance redressal mechanisms, among other things. Until the end of October, it had conducted more than 65,000 awareness programmes covering 30 lakh citizens.
Why is there a concern about cryptocurrency?
- The crypto dilemma stems from concerns about the unregulated currency having a destabilising effect on the monetary and fiscal stability of a country.
- Further, crypto exchanges in India are being investigated for their alleged involvement in unlawful practices such as drug trafficking, money laundering, violating foreign exchange legislation and evasion of GST.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended framing legislation on the sector. It is of the view that cryptocurrencies should be prohibited.
- The crypto assets are by definition borderless and therefore, any legislation (for regulation or for banning) would require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage. The collaboration must entail an evaluation of risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards.
Will an outreach programme help?
- There are two concerns: first, apart from the outreach programme, there has to be a regulatory mechanism for the crypto sector. Second, he says the messaging has to be right.
- Cryptocurrency investing can be a complex and risky endeavour as the category is extremely volatile and works round the clock. It is important for potential investors to thoroughly educate themselves before making any decision.
- As for the allegations, the immutable, public nature of the blockchain makes crypto a poor choice for money laundering because it allows law enforcement to uncover and trace money laundering far easier than cash transactions.
What about online gaming?
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been appointed the nodal industry for online gaming in India; for e-sports, the nodal agency is the Department of Sports, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. A proposed framework for Central regulation by MeitY is expected to address issues faced by the sector.
- For instance, there is confusion about the definitions of a ‘game of chance’ like fantasy games, and a ‘game of skill’, a term, which has been used in the Public Gaming Act (1867) but has not been spelt out. There are risks from cybercrimes as well.
- In a ‘game of skill’, while the element of chance cannot be entirely ruled out, it is the ‘element of skill’ (mental or physical skill of the user) that plays a dominant role in determining the outcome of the game rather than pure chance.
- A glance at the rulings of the Supreme Court and several High Courts clearly establish ‘Games of Skill’ as legitimate business activities protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution. These rulings have also emphasised a clear distinction between ‘Games of Skill’ and ‘Games of Chance’.
- Despite these court rulings, online skill games have faced restrictions in a few States due to addiction, financial losses and the thin line between skill and chance.
